Posts tagged ‘illegal Military Grade Weapons sale’

The U.S government weapons smuggling scandal grown from a simple gun smuggling scandal into a full blown military grade weapons smuggling scandal following the arrest of a Zetas cartel leader. Law enforcement officials report the U.S government has supplied the Zetas cartel with, among other things, “an array of military grade weapons, grenade and grenade launchers, high-powered rifles, body armor, anti-aircraft missiles, and night vision goggles.”

The nation was shocked when the U.S government was caught red handed smuggling guns to drug cartels in Mexico after government supplied guns were linked to the murders of law enforcement officials working along the U.S. Mexico border.

The scandal deepened when the hacker group ‘Anonymous’ leaked reported government documents on the Internet which appear to show that the leader of the La Familia cartel in Mexico was actually the feds point man for the gun smuggling operation. Although the revelations revealed in data release was not confirmed by the Obama administration the information became part of a congressional investigation into the scandal.

Soon after the news of La Familia cartel scandal broke, the leader of the Zetas cartel leader Jesús Enrique Rejón Aguilar, aka El Mamito was arrested in Mexico. During an interrogation by the police, El Mamito stated the Zetas cartel was exclusively supplied guns by the U.S. government.

Critics charged that while the Obama administration was smuggling guns to criminals they were using the violence perpetrated by those same criminals as a justification to take guns away from U.S. citizens.

As the congressional investigation into the scandal continued new discovered evidence revealed the government gun smuggling operations were not limited to Mexico. In fact, congressional leaders uncovered a sister operation ran out of Florida being used to smuggle guns into Puerto Rico and Honduras.

As the Obama officials moved to distance themselves from the growing scandal Kenneth Melson, the ATF’s acting director, came forward and accused the Justice Department covering up evidence to shield officials from the scandal.

Today comes reports that a wide array of U.S. government military grade equipment is being stashed in safe houses inside of the U.S., that that controlled and owned by the Zetas drug cartel, from where they are smuggled into Mexico.

According to conservative examiner Anthony Martin, “The weapons stashes discovered b law enforcement, Border Patrol, and other agencies contain ample evidence of dozens of ‘smoking guns’–literally and symbolically–that prove the cartel is in the weapons smuggling business. However, the cartel has more than just smoking guns.”

Martin’s labeling of the weapons as ‘more than just smoking guns’ just may be the understatement of the year

“The El Paso Times reported that officials have discovered an array of military grade weapons, grenade and grenade launchers, high-powered rifles, body armor, anti-aircraft missiles, and night vision goggles,” writes Martin, “The nature of the weapons that have been discovered would seem to confirm suspicions that the cartel obtains these weapons from the U.S. Government.”

Martin quotes the El Paso Times:

“Jesús Rejón Aguilar, the number three man in the Zeta’s hierarchy, disclosed last week that the Zetas bought weapons in the United States and transported them across the Rio Grande. Mexican federal authorities captured Rejón on July 3 in the state of Mexico, and presented him to the news media the next day. His recorded video statement was uploaded on YouTube.

[Former CIA Agent Phil] Jordan agreed with Plumlee’s allegations that the Zetas are operating in the Columbus-Palomas border.

Plumlee, who has testified before U.S. congressional committees about arms and drug trafficking, said the roads in Southern New Mexico provide smugglers easy access to Mexico’s highway networks.

This is very strong evidence and brings the gun smuggling operations to an entirely new level as the military grade weapons are being used by the cartels to commit acts of terrorism in Mexico and inside the United States.

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Revolution ( in the US a constitutional right )

The 1776 Declaration of Independence stated that when a long train of abuses by those in power evidence a design to reduce the rights of people to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness, it is the peoples right, in fact their duty to engage in a revolution.

and ….. JFK in his own words !

In a speech to the Newspaper Publishers Association in 1961, President Kennedy said:
“No president should fear public scrutiny of his program, for from that scrutiny comes understanding, and from that understanding comes support or opposition; and both are necessary. . . . Without debate, without criticism, no administration and no country can succeed, and no republic can survive. That is why the Athenian law makers once decreed it a crime for any citizen to shrink from controversy. And that is why our press was protected by the First Amendment.”

Abraham Lincoln said, just before his assassination:

I see in the near future a crisis approaching that unnerves me and causes me to tremble for the safety of my country...Corporations have been enthroned, an era of corruption in high places will follow, and the money-power of the country will endeavor to prolong its reign by working upon the prejudices of the people until the wealth is aggregated in a few hands and the Republic is destroyed."
Hmmmm.

"Have I gone mad?" asked the Mad-Hatter. "I'm afraid so, you're entirely bonkers", Alice replied, "but I'll tell you a secret... all the best people are." The exchange above is from Lewis Carroll's notorious fictional story, Alice in Wonderland, which in my professional opinion stands with more validity than […]

Camila Batmanghelidjh was forced to quit as chief executive last monthWhistleblowers claim children were given cash to spend on what they likedThe government has threatened to withhold a £3million grant to the charityCritics claim the charity became a 'personality cult' around its founderOne of Britain's top charities is at risk of collapse af […]

Earlier this month, the Obama administration quietly issued new rules to the Fair Housing Act that will radically alter the way your neighborhood looks. The Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing Rule (AFFH) will change zoning laws, redefine neighborhoods, control transportation and business development, and remove the authority of state and local governments […]

A Citilink plane skidded off a runway in western Indonesia on Sunday, injuring three people and forcing the airport to shut down, according to a transportation ministry official and local media. The Airbus A320 plane was carrying 174 passengers en route from Jakarta to Padang when it bounced off the runway upon landing, transportation ministry spokesman Juli […]

New York City is in the midst of a deadly outbreak of a type of severe pneumonia known as Legionnaires' Disease. Bronx residents have become anxious, as four people have succumbed to the illness and 65 others have been infected in the area since July 10. According to hospital officials, fifty-five of the infected have been hospitalized. The disease is s […]

Police in Norway hardly ever use their guns, a new report released by the Scandinavian country's government shows. In fact, it's been almost 10 years since law enforcement shot and killed someone, in 2006. Perhaps the most telling instance was when terrorist Anders Breivik opened fire in 2011 and killed 77 people in Utoya and Oslo. Authorities fire […]

No less than four high-profile aviation incidents, three in the UK and one in Colombia, have rocked the aviation world within the last 24 hours. These included the loss of a shadowy Colombian Air Force CASA 235, an Embraer private jet with three of the Bin Laden family on board, a Folland Gnat performing at a huge car event, and a Spitfire that crashed durin […]

An investigative report by the Miami Herald published today reveals that two local Florida police agencies engaged in a slick money laundering scheme ripped from a Hollywood movie, reaping a whopping $2.4 million for themselves in drug money. The Tri-County Task Force, which consisted of officers from two small police agencies, the Glade County Sheriff' […]

A century ago, American troops invaded and occupied a foreign nation. They would stay there for almost two decades, install a client government, impose new laws and fight insurgents in bloody battles on difficult terrain. Thousands of residents perished during what turned out to be 19 years of de facto U.S. rule. The country was Haiti, the Caribbean nation t […]

Washington, DC is slowly seeping into the Earth, and it could sink another six inches in the next century due to subsurface land movement under the Chesapeake Bay, according to a new study. The research confirms twin hypotheses, both of which are worrying. The first is that tide gauges show sea level rises in the Chesapeake region are twice the global averag […]

Malaysian Transport Minister Liow Tiong Lai said Sunday that the flaperon discovered on Reunion Island has been officially identified as being part of a Boeing 777 aircraft, the same type of plane of the missing flight of Malaysia Airlines MH370.

The recently exposed U.S. spying on Japan, one of its most loyal "allies," has once again proved to the world that U.S. foreign polices are still based on realpolitik and it only sees other countries as objects to control, no matter whether they are "friends" or foes.

The Japanese government has remained relatively silent since the WikiLeaks website published documents Friday showing the U.S. National Security Agency (NSA) has spied on the Japanese government and Japanese companies.

Israeli Defense Minister Moshe Ya'alon has ordered administrative detention against Jewish suspects of a terror attack in which a Palestinian baby was killed and family members critically injured once they are captured, a ministry spokesperson confirmed to Xinhua on Sunday.

Thousands of Israelis took part in a rally in Tel Aviv Saturday evening to protest extremism, violence and incitement following the killing of a Palestinian toddler in an arson attack by suspected Jewish extremists.

Trade representatives from 12 Pacific Rim countries on Friday failed to reach a final TPP deal that would cover about 40 percent of global economic output, with major sticking points remaining in the areas of market access and intellectual property.

China's Supreme People's Court has accused former security czar Zhou Yongkang of involvement in unofficial political activities with jailed former Chongqing party boss Bo Xilai, in an apparent reference to unconfirmed rumors that they tried to stage a coup in March 2012. (Mar 20, '15)

Intense fighting between Myanmar government troops and rebel forces in the northern Shan State region of Kokang in recent days has left more than 100 people dead, the majority of them on the government side, according to local sources. (Mar 20, '15)

Shortly after attackers killed at least 19 people, including 17 foreign tourists, in an attack on a museum in Tunisia's capital, newly elected President Beji Caid Essebsi told the nation that the country was "in a war with terrorism" and that those responsible for the attack would be "fought without mercy". (Mar 19, '15)

Why did so many Israeli voters switch their allegiance to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu just before this week's election? The answer is simple and obvious: most of those small-party voters oppose a Palestinian state, and a day before the election Netanyahu ruled out a Palestinian state on his watch. (Mar 19, '15)

Seven years after Russia recognized Georgia's breakaway region of South Ossetia as an independent state, Russian President Vladimir Putin has signed an "alliance and integration treaty" with South Ossetia's de facto leader, Leonid Tibilovin. Georgia's Foreign Ministry said the pact amounted to the "actual annexation" of the […]

US fingerprints are all over a botched commando raid in the Philippines that left dozens dead. The episode has severely discredited the administration of Philippine President Benigno Aquino III, jeopardized decades of progress on peace talks with Moro separatists, and underlined the perils for developing-world governments that put themselves at the beck and […]

President Emomali Rahmon opened Tajikistan's new parliament on March 17 with a rousing, self-congratulatory speech. International observers may have found the March 1 parliamentarian elections to be full of fraud, but Rahmon felt the vote had represented the highest form of democracy. - Edward Lemon (Mar 19, '15)

You can argue that the 1990s were a halcyon period for the old, but you can rest assured that being old in 2040 will be very unpleasant indeed. This isn't just a US-oriented problem; it's more or less true for the world as a whole. - Martin Hutchinson

China has moved to broaden its already significant economic presence in Nepal by agreeing to a five-fold increase in assistance to the country, pledging funds that will likely go towards infrastructure projects.

Tehran, Aug 3, IRNA - Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said political solution is the final way out of on-going crises in Yemen and Syria with former under foreign military aggression and latter suffering a proxy civil war by terrorists.

Tehran, Aug 2, IRNA - President Hassan Rouhani said the entire Iranian nation will stand behind its Leader and rights and will safeguard them by honorable ways as it did during Saddam-imposed war and never resorted to retaliate with chemical attacks.

Islam Times - UK politician Jeremy Corbyn who is the most popular candidate for Labour party leader has taken another step forward in his campaign to become the party’s leader by garnering the support of the Communication Workers Union.

Islam Times - The US administration of President Barack Obama has decided that it must retaliate against China for the alleged theft and revelation of personal information of over 20 million Americans from government databases.

Islam Times - The new leader of Afghan Taliban has made his first public announcement, calling for unity among the members of the terrorist group, while vowing to continue its campaign across Afghanistan.

Islam Times - The leader of Iraq’s Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) has suggested that members of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) should leave the country's northern semi-autonomous region amid ongoing Turkish airstrikes against positions of the militant group.

On August 2, 1990, the Iraqi army invaded Kuwait, a tiny Persian Gulf emirate. Three days later, US president George HW Bush fielded questions from reporters on the South Lawn of the White House. The key line from, and substance of, those remarks: “This will not stand, this aggression against Kuwait.”Two days after that, Operation […]

Let’s mix some metaphors in the Middle East, all of them involving elephants. In the crisis zone that encompasses Iran, Iraq, Turkey, and Syria, the Kurds are the elephant in the room. They are the “problem” that no one really wants to talk about. Because it would be stitched together from bits and pieces of […]

If you want a sleepless night – or month – just listen to what Western security officials are saying these days about a possible confrontation with Russia. “If you want to talk about a nation that could pose an existential threat to the United States,” warned General Joseph Dunford, the chairman of the U.S. Joint […]

We’re in the summer doldrums of the news cycle, a perfect time for our government and the media – or do I repeat myself? – to drop certain inconvenient stories down the Memory Hole. My job, of course, is to retrieve them…. Remember Ukraine? I seem to recall blaring headlines about a supposedly “imminent” and […]

The “P5+1” agreement with Iran basically mothballs the latter’s nuclear power activities for at least ten years. Israel and its American loyalists, however, have ordered Congress to wreck the deal. Congress must obey Israel’s orders. It’s right there in the Constitution – or, at least, in the version AIPAC must be handing out to newly […] […]

After World War II, when Stalin encroached upon Turkey and Greece, Harry Truman came to the rescue. Turkey reciprocated by sending thousands of troops to fight alongside our GIs in Korea. Turkey joined NATO and let the U.S. station Jupiter missiles in their country. When JFK secretly traded away the Jupiters for removal of the […]

As much of the Middle East sinks deeper into division between competing political camps, the so-called "Islamic State" ("IS") continues its unhindered march towards a twisted version of a Muslim caliphate. Many thousands have lost their lives, some in the most torturous ways, so that "IS" may realize its nightmarish dream. Of co […]

New ways of dealing with the massive amounts of excess food which exacerbates drought and climate change. Ron Clark is no stranger to food waste. After more than 20 years of working to supply fresh produce to California’s food banks, he knows every point along the route from farm to table where produce gets plucked from the human food chain, for cosmetic rea […]

And Fox finds new ways to blame blacks for cops' poor decisions to shoot them. 1. Fox News finds new ways to blame unarmed black men for their own deaths by cop.All these videotapes of unarmed black men being executed by cops are really starting to grate on Fox Newsians. On Friday’s stellar discussion on “The Five,” Eric Bolling and Kimberly Guilfoyle h […]

The Vermont's Senator's unexpected journey. Bernie Sanders’ presidential campaign is surging. In July, nearly 10,000 supporters gathered in Madison, Wis., to hear the 73-year-old socialist senator denounce the Koch brothers and corporate greed. Another 7,500 came to hear him in Portland, Maine. He fired up a crowd of 11,000 in Phoenix, Ariz.More an […]

Republicans have it completely backwards - higher wages can only help the overall economy. Worker pay is rising at the slowest pace ever recorded. But it's worse than that because the new data include everyone who's paid -- including top CEOs and Wall Street moguls. The fact is, most people's pay is stagnant or dropping when adjusted for the c […]

He more likely to get elected -- and far more dangerous if he does. A few days ago, the Daily Beast published an article by self-styled Reasonable Conservative Matt K. Lewis on “cuckservative,” a relatively new term of abuse that has recently set off some intramural sniping within the conservative movement. As Lewis rightly noted, the term is tribalist and r […]

While conservatives rave disingenuously about abortion, we're ignoring these life-and-death issues. It’s a tale as old as time. Conservatives find themselves backed into a political corner, usually right before a contentious election season. In need of something to mobilize their anti-choice base, they launch an attack on reproductive health through ano […]

Tony Atkinson's new book points the way forward. British economist Tony Atkinson has been studying inequality — the gap in income and wealth between the top and the bottom — for nearly half a century. Now that the dogma of trickle-down has been exposed as myth, he sees economists, policy-makers and the public finally waking up to the seriousness of the […]

Is group sex really as taboo as it seems? Tradition holds that if we want to have sex, we’ve got to partner up. Once you find your mate, you can place A into B to create C. But what happens when you add someone to the party? And then another. And another, and another…Group sex is one of those things that make some people go “hmm.” It’s seemingly taboo, kinky […]

General Hayden told a lie, and it’s a whopper. “All tricksters, other than magicians, depend to a great extent upon the fact that they are not known to be, or even suspected of being, tricksters. Therein lies their great advantage.” — John MulhollandMagicians wield secrecy on the theater stage in the service of illusions. Spies likewise wield illusion on the […]

Be very afraid. As an unprecedented shift in public opinion brought about the legalization of gay marriage, a vigorous counter-current has been intensifying under the banner of “religious freedom”—an incredibly slippery term.Perhaps the most radical definition of such freedom comes out of the relatively obscure tradition of Christian Reconstructionism, the s […]

Philip Bailey- “Children of the Ghetto” Tonight on the Soothing the Beast BFP/Jamiol Music pick we visit with American R&B, soul, gospel and funk singer Philip Bailey. He is best known as one of the longtime members of the band Earth, Wind & Fire. The song is Children of the Ghetto from Bailey's Chinese Wall […]

Peter B. Collins Presents Criminologist John D. Carl America’s prison population is larger than the total population of New Zealand, Norway or Denmark. In their new book, Carl and his co-author detail our high rates of incarceration, and note that only a third of prisoners were convicted of violent crimes. President Obama and members of […]

Central Banks & Global Governance What role do central banks play in the process and evolution of 'global governance'? This episode attempts to provide a loose definition of global governance and briefly look at the role of 'independent' central banks in defining and shaping the modern world economy, specifically the global 'mark […]

Biology-inspired Engineering and Morphing Technology Drones with wings? But why?! While some Dronesters are dwelling on the metallic, the plastic, and the 3D printed, other roboticists & researchers are harkening back to the whims of the natural world. There are birds that can maneuver like no human built aircraft can. Researchers have found that the […] […]

Terror Spreads Across China as Uyghurs Explore New Escape Routes, Kyrgyzstan Cancels Treaty Because U.S. 'Sought Chaos' & More *The Great Game Round-Up brings you the latest newsworthy developments regarding Central Asia and the Caucasus region. We document the struggle for influence, power, hegemony and profits in Central Asia and the Caucasus […]

The War on Terror in Ireland lasted 30 years and killed thousands. In many ways it was the operational prototype for the modern War on Terror, and can be considered part of Operation Gladio. In this episode I explore The Troubles, beginning with the background of the struggle for Irish independence going back over a […]

Larry Carlton- “Bubble Shuffle” American jazz, blues, pop, and rock guitarist Larry Carlton is the featured artist on tonight's Soothing the Beast BFP/Jamiol Music Pick. The four-time Grammy Award winner is performing his song Bubble Shuffle live at the 1990 Montreal International Jazz Festival ... Enjoy ... DJPJ

Peter B. Collins Presents Journalist Pepe Escobar Inspired by the theme to Looney Toons, globetrotting reporter Pepe Escobar comments on the twin distractions from Donald Trump—America’s Berlusconi—and the Israeli-driven fight in Congress to scuttle the Iran nuclear agreement. Escobar was in Vienna for the talks, and reports that Russia is demanding that the […]

Pearse Redmond, Tom Secker & Prof. Matthew Alford on the Largest ever FOIA release from Pentagon's Entertainment Liaison Office" In this episode Tom Secker and I are joined by Professor Matthew Alford for a discussion of the Department of Defense's' ever increasing relation with Hollywood cinema. We discuss the history and nature of t […]

German Economics & Syriza's Dismal Options Building on the previous podcast's discussion of Greece and Europe's crisis, this episode examines German economic orthodoxy, known as Ordoliberalism, and the effects this has on German policy and strategy, as well as that of the European Central Bank. In addition, this episode examines the contex […]

Turkey's pro-Kurdish Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) co-chairman Selahattin Demirtas has urged the Turkish government and armed members of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) to cease fire immediately. Addressing the media at the HDP headquarters in Ankara Sunday, Demirtas said: "PKK weapons must be instantly silenced; their hands have to […]

EXCLUSIVE IMAGESThe UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) is suffering a severe financial crisis that has apparently forced it to cut costs, worrying Palestinian refugees in the Gaza Strip who depend to a large extent on the agency's assistance. On June 15, UN Commissioner-General Pierre Krähenbühl announced that the agency's fi […]

An Egyptian court has postponed its verdict in the retrial of two Al Jazeera television journalists charged with "broadcasting false news" to August 29, a local judicial source said Sunday. Mohamed Fahmy, a Canadian national who has given up his Egyptian citizenship, and Baher Mohamed, an Egyptian citizen, were both earlier convicted of "broad […]

Five Shia Houthi militants were reportedly killed Sunday in Yemen's Taiz province - and dozens injured - during clashes with forces loyal to the country's president-in-exile, Abd Rabbuh Mansour Hadi, a local pro-Hadi source has told Anadolu Agency. The source, who spoke on condition of anonymity, also said that one pro-Hadi fighter had been killed […]

Egypt and the United States on Sunday resumed strategic dialogue talks after a six-year hiatus, following U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry's arrival to the country one day earlier. "The launch of the strategic dialogue today is a serious chance for the two sides to review the different aspects of the Egyptian-American relationship - politically, […]

Israeli Defence Minister Moshe Yaalon on Sunday ordered that the Jewish extremists believed to be responsible for the death on Friday of a Palestinian infant be placed in administrative detention. Israel's policy of administrative detention - usually applied to Palestinian prisoners - allows the authorities to hold suspects for renewable periods without […]

The Kurdish regional government in Iraq on Saturday called for Kurdish militants fighting Turkey to withdraw from its territory to avoid civilian casualties. In a statement on its website, the government urged the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) - whose bases in the Qandil mountains have been targeted by recent Turkish airstrikes - to withdraw. "[Th […]

As many as 1,332 people were killed in violence across Iraq in July, according to a monthly report released on Saturday by the UN Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI). Some 335 of the deaths were registered in capital Baghdad alone. The death toll, the report noted, included 844 civilians and 488 Iraqi security personnel. According to the same report, another […]

Two opponents of the Egyptian regime have reportedly died in prison as a result of "medical negligence" following a spate of earlier prison deaths in the Arab world's most populous country. Sheikh Ezzat Al-Salamouni, leader of Egypt's Gamaa Islamiya group, died in a prison hospital, according to the Construction and Development Party, the […]

Jim W. Dean, Saudi Arabia has way more weapons than it possibly can use, but it does not have a military with any demonstrated ability as real work is shunned there is something only slaves and subjects do.

By Gordon Duff, Senior Editor The United States and European Union have placed crippling economic sanctions on Syria based entirely on that nation’s military opposition to the ISIS and al Qaeda terror organizations. Normally such a thing would seem strange, perhaps be noticed by the media and pointed out. Such is not the case, however. […]

Jim W. Dean, We will see a stream of stories as Russia modernizes its military, and not for offense as US military liars pretend. It had cut back on military spending to develop it's commercial infrastructure

On Wednesday, President Barack Obama announced that the United States would be changing its policy toward Cuba, opening a Havana embassy and expanding travel. “Through these changes, we intend to create more opportunities for the American and Cuban people and begin a new chapter among the nations of the Americas,” President Obama explained. The president neg […]

President Barack Obama revealed his favorite film of the year to People Magazine in an interview released on Wednesday. Obama named Richard Linklater’s Boyhood his favorite movie of 2014. “Boyhood was a great movie,” he told People Magazine. “That, I think, was my favorite movie this year.” The film, a coming-of-age tale, was shot over a period of 12 year […]

Minnesota State Representative Greg Davids is calling for embattled MIT economics professor Jonathan Gruber, the "architect" of Obamacare, to return all $329,000 he was paid by the state of Minnesota as a subcontractor on a 2011 contract to analyze the state's plan to develop its Obamacare health care exchange, MNSure. On November 21, Davids s […]

While some believe today's actions toward Cuba are within the scope of Barack Obama's role as chief executive, there are others who maintain it's not so clear. Given considerable opposition to his move to significantly loosen restrictions as regards Cuba, he may even end up facing a legal challenge. That would be in line with current challenge […]

Fox News Analyst and columnist for The Hill, Juan Williams, argued that the deal the Obama administration cut with the government of Cuba was "a pig in a poke" and that "there is nothing there" on Wednesday's "Special Report" on the Fox News Channel. "The United States got sold a pig in a poke, there is nothing there […]

ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) — Handing environmentalists a breakthrough victory, New York plans to prohibit fracking for natural gas because of what regulators say are its unexplored health risks and dubious economic benefits. New York, which overlies part of the gas-rich Marcellus Shale formation that has led to a drilling boom in Pennsylvania and other nearby states, […]

Wednesday, People magazine published an interview titled "The Obamas: How We Deal with Our Own Racist Experiences," in which Michelle Obama claimed it was due to racism that a woman at Target asked her for help to get detergent from a high shelf. "I tell this story, I mean, even as the first lady, during that wonderfully publicized trip I too […]

Despite, or perhaps because of Barack Obama being in the White House - many feel he's done more harm than good to race relations in America - an NBC News/ Wall Street Journal poll "showed the most pessimistic assessment of racial issues in almost two decades." A majority of Americans, 57% now say they are bad. In the wake of protests over the […]

Senator and prospective 2016 Republican presidential hopeful Rand Paul addressed several Goldman Sachs executives during "a closed-door audience at the firm's 200 West offices as part of an internal company speaker series known as Talks@GS." Reportedly, "Paul spoke about foreign policy, the economic recovery, and race relations, ... and h […]

[Deutsche Welle] A Burundian army general who was a close ally of President Pierre Nkurunziza has been killed in the country's capital, Bujumbura. The slaying comes after Nkurunziza won a third term in controversial elections.

[The Conversation Africa] There is more to former Chadian President Hissène Habré's disruption of the opening of his trial in Dakar than meets the eye. He faces various charges including the politically motivated murders of at least 40,000 people.

[The Conversation Africa] There is a bizarre paradox at work in South Africa: children are either going hungry or are eating too much of the wrong foods. This means that over and under nutrition co-exist. Both phenomena are extremely harmful for children's physical and mental development and long term health.

[New Zimbabwe] WILDLIFE authorities have announced an immediate ban on the hunting of lions, leopards and elephants outside Hwange National Park in the wake of the widely condemned killing of iconic lion, Cecil early last month.

[The Conversation Africa] Until recently, sub-Saharan Africa was thought to be free from the American foulbrood disease, which afflicts its honeybee population. This was believed to be due to the African honeybees' biology, and possibly that American foulbrood strains in Africa have a low virulence and rarely generate outbreaks. However, it is not the c […]

[Deutsche Welle] One more US hunter is believed to have shot down a lion in Zimbabwe, according to Harare's park authority. The killing follows the death of Cecil the lion, who fell to a Minnesota dentist last month.

Muhammadiyah representatives from 16 countries on Sunday attended an international meeting aimed at discussing the latest developments in the second- largest Islamic organization in Indonesia as a result of its involvement in international forums.

thejakartapost.com

President Jokowi scheduled to open Muhammadiyah national congress

President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo is scheduled to open the 47th Muhammadiyah national congress (muktamar), which will take place at Karebosi Square in Makassar, South Sulawesi, on Monday.

thejakartapost.com

Lawyer provided to assist victims of violence in Cairo: Embassy

The Indonesian Embassy in Cairo, Egypt, said on Sunday that it had hired an Egyptian lawyer to assist Indonesian victims in a robbery case.

thejakartapost.com

Pertamina integrated megaproject in Banggai inaugurated

President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo inaugurated on Sunday the Pertamina Integrated, a project which combines upstream and downstream oil and gas industries with a total investment of US$5.8 billion in Banggai regency, Central Sulawesi.

thejakartapost.com

Energy efficiency boosts wider access to electricity: WB

New research commissioned by the World Bank (WB) reveals that prioritizing energy efficiency will accelerate progress toward achieving global targets to give wider access to modern energy, such as electricity, to people who need it.

thejakartapost.com

Egypt court postpones Al-Jazeera English verdict to Aug. 29

An Egyptian court on Sunday again postponed announcing a verdict in the retrial of three Al-Jazeera English journalists, extending the long-running trial criticized worldwide by press freedom advocates and human rights activists.

Brian Rohan, The Associated Press

Malaysia seeks help in finding more possible MH370 debris

Malaysian officials said Sunday that they would seek help from territories near the island where a suspected piece of the missing Malaysia Airlines jet was discovered to try to find more plane debris.

Eileen Ng, The Associated Press

WADA to investigate new doping allegations in athletics

The World Anti-Doping Agency is alarmed by "wild allegations'" made by two European media outlets of widespread suspicious drug tests in track and field, and is asking an independent body to investigate.

Stephen Wilson, The Associated Press

Zimbabwe confirms lion named Jericho has not been shot

Wildlife authorities in Zimbabwe on Sunday dismissed a report of the shooting death of a male lion who was a companion of Cecil, a well-known lion killed by an American hunter in early July.

Farai Mutsaka, The Associated Press

Rp6b needed to cope with drought in Yogyakarta

The Yogyakarta Disaster Mitigation Agency (BPBD) has warned that the budget it needs to respond to the drought in the province will amount to Rp 6 billion (US$444,000) this year.

Activists from diverse social movements gathered outside Venezuela's Ministry of Energy and Mining in Caracas this morning to demand the repeal of a controversial presidential decree authorizing coal mining in the country's northwestern Perija mountain range located in Zulia state. read more […]

Venezuela's National Electoral Council (CNE) signed a memorandum of understanding with its Haitian counterpart on Friday as part of an effort to deepen cooperation between the two electoral institutions in technical assistance and training. read more

Speaking at the historic inauguration of the Cuban embassy in Washington, US Secretary of State John Kerry called for strengthening ties not just with Cuba, but with the island nation's longstanding socialist ally, Venezuela, as well. read more

Venezuelan far right leader Maria Corina Machado has been barred from holding public office for twelve months after she neglected to disclose the full extent of her earnings during her term as a congresswoman. read more

Hundreds were arrested across Venezuela in a mass anti-crime operation undertaken by state security forces to liberate territories occupied by paramilitary gangs in the capital district and bordering states of Miranda and Aragua on Monday. read more

Buenos Aires governor and presidential candidate Daniel Scioli has declared his confidence in a strong showing at the PASO elections, stating that anything over 30 percent of the total vote would be a positive result.

City mayor Mauricio Macri has assured that San Lorenzo's chances of returning to the Boedo neighbourhood in a new stadium are almost non-existent, causing a furious backlash amongst fans of the current Copa Libertadores holders.

By Fermín Koop With still no light at the end of the tunnel on the conflict with the “vulture” funds, the government received good news last week on the path towards a new sovereign debt framework as a United Nations committee approved a set of principles that seek to limit the actions of hedge funds.

By Luciana Bertoia Juan Patricio Murray, Sabrina Namer and Roberto Salum are three of the four prosecutors appointed months ago by Attorney General Alejandra Gils Carbó to take charge of the Attorney General’s Unit for the Investigation into the AMIA case (UFI-AMIA) after Alberto Nisman was found dead of a gunshot to the head in January.

What this Haaretz article does not cover is one of the reasons this case was reopened. Many of you who had been on the DIGNITY and SPIRIT OF HUMANITY voyages in December 2008, January 2009 and July 2009 filled out the ICC forms stating that what Israel did was not a one-off attack on Freedom Flotilla I. Free Gaza board members, Audrey Bomse and Greta Berlin, […]

In the early morning of June 29th, armed Israeli commandos raided the Swedish fishing trawler, ‘Marianne’, part of a 4-ship flotilla on its way to Gaza. These well-armed commandos attacked 100 nautical miles from Gaza in international waters, a violation of international maritime law. It was the 15th attempt to sail into the blockaded port, the first 5 succe […]

Click on this link and it will take you to the petition where you can sign Petition to UN Explanation is below. Petition: end the siege was originally published by FreeGaza Movement at FreeGaza on June 27, 2015.

with Mike Burch Greta Berlin is an American peace activist who supports the Palestinian people in their quest to obtain freedom, equal rights and justice. She has been a spokesperson for the Free Gaza Movement, which she co-founded in 2006. She was one of the freedom sailors on the first outside vessel to reach Gaza since Israel established its blockade, and […]

December 8, 2014 The humanitarian situation in Gaza continues to deteriorate. Israel is not being held accountable for the damage it caused during its assault on the strip nor for the commitments it made as a part of the Egyptian brokered agreement to end hostilities. The port of Gaza remains closed and borders remain blocked and Palestinians in Gaza continu […]

MEMO | Sept 2, 2014 Senior Hamas leader Mahmoud Al-Zahar said on Monday that the United States is a partner to the Israeli occupation and its crimes committed in the Gaza Strip.Speaking to the Palestinian Al-Quds television, he said: “We mean the US administration, not the American people, who took to the streets in … … Continue reading →

MEMO | Tuesday, 02 September 2014 11:46 IMAGES The explosives engineering division in the Ministry of Interior in the Gaza Strip yesterday destroyed around five tonnes of unexploded bombs that were launched by the Israeli army on the sector during their latest assault. Imad Al-Amasi, director of the division, told the Anadolu news agency: “Today, … … Continu […]

Tuesday September 02, 2014 05:05 by IMEMC News & Agencies Israeli forces kidnapped six Palestinians and physically assaulted two teenagers in West Bank districts, on Monday, according to reports by security sources. Also on Monday, seven residential and agricultural structures in the southern Hebron Governorate were demolished. PCHR archive photo Israe […]

Tuesday September 02, 2014 10:03 by Saed Bannoura – IMEMC News Palestinian medical sources report that a man and a child have died of serious injuries suffered, in different strikes, during Israel’s extensive bombardment and aggression on the Gaza Strip. Image – Palestinian Ministry Of Health The sources said resident Bassem ‘Ajjour died, on … … Continue r […]

By Stephen Lendman | Global Research, September 01, 2014 On August 31, Israel’s Civil Administration announced confiscation of around 1,000 acres of privately owned Palestinian land. It lawlessly declared it State Land. It’s to establish a Gva’ot settlement. It’s located south of Bethlehem. It’s in the Southern West Bank. Peace Now calls itself “the leading […]

Jen Marlowe reports from the Palestinian village of Duma, where Israeli settlers had poured flammable liquid into the window of the Dawabsheh home and then tossed molotov cocktails inside burning 18-month old Ali Dawabsheh to death. A neighbor tells Marlowe that as horrific as this incident was, violence from Israeli settlers is all too familiar for Palestin […]

The murder of Ali Dawabsha is deeply connected to Israel’s “War of Independence,” which declared Israel as a Jewish state after a systematic process of ethnic cleansing that included massacres, like Deir Yassin, and soon after the Kafr Kassim massacre of 1956, whose perpetrators were pardoned and freed after a year.

"Am I your friend to wish me a good day?" a soldier asks a Palestinian youth of 18 at Hebron checkpoint, then clubs him with a rifle, breaking his jaw. Naser Jaber had said, "Good day" to the soldier after being waved through

The great horrors that the State of Israel is involved in are not in the outbursts of rage by extremists. They’re committed routinely, in all spheres of life: in the occupation, on a normal day, in the siege, on a normal day, and ordinary citizens justify them, Anat Rimon-Or writes on Facebook

Israelis have set fire to nine Palestinian homes in the last three years, and no one has ever been charged. So why does the U.S. government have "faith in the system" when it comes to the murder last night of Ali Saed Dabwasha?

This Thursday was a day of terror in Israel. Almost immediately after an ultra-Orthodox fanatic Yishai Schlisser stabbed six people at the Jerusalem Gay Pride Parade, Jewish extremists perpetrated an arson attack in the village of Douma, near Nablus, killing a one-and-a-half year-old Palestinian toddler. Both crimes were explicitly condemned by the Israeli P […]

Ben Norton remembers attending the 2014 Christians United for Israel summit held last summer at the height of the Israeli attack on Gaza. He writes, "a CUFI summit is a place where there is no distinction between church and state, between religion and nation, between faith and ideology. It is a place where the world is perpetually on the brink of absolu […]

On July 19th, the American Friends Service Committee held a symbolic morning commemoration on Montrose Beach in Chicago to remember the children killed by the Israeli military in the summer of 2014. AFSC’s morning remembrance on Montrose Beach consisted of placing black pinwheels in the sand. Each pinwheel symbolizes a child killed, and is labeled with their […]

The metropolitan police of London told a judge Thursday that Russia was involved in the polonium poisoning of Russian spy Alexander Litvinenko in 2006. “The evidence suggests that the only credible explanation is in one way or another the Russian state is involved in Litvinenko’s murder,” said barrister Richard Horwell.

Google announced Thursday it will not grant a request by the French data protection authority to remove certain search results from its non-European search engine versions. "While the right to be forgotten may now be the law in Europe, it is not the law globally," it said

Germany has opened its first treason investigation in 50 years on a website which reported on plans to increase state surveillance of online communications. “The federal prosecutor has started an investigation on suspicion of treason into articles ... published on the internet blog Netzpolitik.org,” a prosecutor’s office spokeswoman said Thursday.

The EU will extend financial support for farmers hit by a Russian ban on European imports into next year, the European Commission confirmed Thursday. The compensation scheme, which covers farmers making dairy products, fruit and vegetables, was introduced last August after Russia imposed an import ban on European produce.

Greek PM Alexis Tsipras suggested at a Syriza party meeting on Thursday holding an "emergency [party] congress to discuss being in power as leftists, our strategy in the face of bailout conditions". However, he added that a party referendum Sunday is also a possibility to solve the internal rift.

A female Australian artist was arrested and jailed in Abu Dhabi for “writing bad words on social media,” after reportedly posting a picture of a car parked across two disabled parking spots on Facebook. Jodi Magi, 39, was arrested by United Arab Emirates police and put into prison, after being found guilty of “writing bad […]

Milos Zeman is sure the West is to blame for illigal migration crisis in the EU. The current migrant crisis in Europe is the result of the Western interference in the regional countries’ internal affairs, Czech President Milos Zeman said Sunday. In recent months, Europe has faced the biggest wave of undocumented immigration in years, […]

A federal judge late Friday granted a temporary restraining order against the release of recordings made at an annual meeting of abortion providers. The injunction is against the Center for Medical Progress, the group that has unveiled Planned Parenthood’s participation in the sale of organs harvested from aborted children. Judge William H. Orrick, III, gran […]

Flash floods, triggered by monsoon rainfall, have killed more than 100 people across Pakistan over the past weeks. Pakistan’s National Disaster Management Authority announced on Sunday that 109 people have died and some 700,000 others have been affected due to heavy flooding. It added that military engineers had been deployed to the affected areas in […]

Four people, including the pilot, were killed when a light aircraft crashed at a car auction in Blackbushe Airport, Hampshire. Media reports suggest the plane was registered to a Saudi company owned by the Bin Laden family. There were no survivors in the crash, as the pilot and three passengers died in the incident, Inspector […]

Each weekend, WIRED rounds up the security vulnerabilities and privacy updates that deserve your attention. The post Security News This Week: United Airlines Can’t Catch a Break appeared first on WIRED.

Researchers are uncovering the hidden laws that reveal how the Internet grows, how viruses spread, and how financial bubbles burst. The post New Laws Explain Why Fast-Growing Networks Break appeared first on WIRED.

In wake of Jewish terrorist attack in Duma, gov't authorizes use of administrative detentions, while Justice Ministry team recommends changing classification of 'price tag' perpetrators to 'terrorists'.

How bad is the construction of Tel Aviv's light rail going to be? Just ask the Jerusalemite business owners; customers stopped coming, merchants got into financial trouble, 60% of businesses closed down; but now, it appears, there's life after the digging: 'We turned into a European city. Tourists from all over the world come here'.

Haifa University President Amos Shapira presented Netanyahu with data that shows the Iranians were investing more in higher education than Israel; now, following the decision to cut NIS 263 million from higher education, university leaders decided to fight back; 'After all, Iran’s bomb is not built by the farmers working in the field,' Shapira warn […]

HBO's most-watched series, the medieval fantasy drama "Game of Thrones," will likely continue through three more seasons, a network executive said on July 30, as he defended the show's gritty violence.

Turkish President Tayyip Erdoğan could not separate himself from domestic politics even during his China-Indonesia trip, rocking coalition talks between the delegations of Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu’s Justice and Development Party (AK Parti) and Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu’s Republican People’s Party (CHP) with his words

Turkish authorities have prevented a Dagestani man from joining the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) thanks to his mistake in presuming that Ankara is a seaside city and his twin brother's Whatsapp plot.